Many people refer to EiG as the “must attend event for the B2B iGaming businesses in Europe”, and even though the crowds were slightly thinner today due to some hang overs from last night, the floors were still filled with senior reps and decision makers from large businesses in the industry.
During a conversation I had today with OpenBet, I learned that many software providers and exhibitors view EiG an opportunity to build relationships with existing clients, an opportunity to provide a nice booth for these clients to visit, and a good place “showcase” their product for future potential clients. This is very different than the larger and more junior, start up crowd that attends ICE in January, the place where more education, initial introductions, and actual deals occur. EiG is the wining, dining, networking and window shopping opportunity for the very senior igaming industry crowd.
The buzz on the conference floor today revolved around the popular CEO MegaDebate, iGaming vision for 2015, a panel full of industry leaders such as 888.com’s Gigi Levi, Mangas’s Nicolas Beraud, PartyGaming’s Jim Ryan, and more. Gigi Levi shared with this audience his view on the importance and dominance of social media in today’s market and touched on how competitive the igaming marketplace is becoming as companies continue to consolidate. Nicolas Beraud spoke of the regulation that is taking place throughout Europe past present and future and the importance of getting licensed in each of these jurisdictions if you are looking to become a big player in the European iGaming market.
Another hot topic for day two included the rise of popularity in new products and games such as mahjong, social media platforms, lotteries and scratch cards. The days of breaking into the poker market and casino market seem to be dying down as operators, new and old, search to find a new niche product that they can excel in and perfect.
For those who are looking for a nice freebee, the winners of yesterday’s Start-up Launch Pad, Passoker, are giving away a signed Manchester jersey, compliments of former Manchester player Viv Anderson who is a part of this new team. For all you Manchester fans out there, you best drop your business card off with team Passoker tonight or in the AM so your name can be drawn at 2pm tomorrow and announced on the EiG expo floor. I saw that kick-ass jersey today and I want to win it even though I’m American and don’t know a thing about football!
After a day full of hard work, tonight the Ayre Heads and I are off to the GTECH G2 VIP party and then to the Official EiG SafeCharge Party at Park Café, one of Copenhagen’s hottest nightspots. Come find us tonight and say hello, or if you’re just too tired, have something better to do, or are simply not in Copenhagen, be sure to check out the CalvinAyre.com Party SINdex tomorrow morning for all the juicy details, party pictures and DAF Award from the evening ahead…
Check out pictures from the conference at the CalvinAyre.com Picture Gallery!
